A public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9, as the Patrick County Board of Supervisors consider setting the real estate tax rate.
The decision to hold the public hearing was scheduled after the board approved setting the rate not to exceed 73-cents per $100 of assessed value for fiscal year 2023-2024. That is the same rate for the current fiscal year.
In other matters, the board:
*Heard from Mary Clement, of the Blue Ridge District, who is a property owner of Patrick County but a voting resident of Pittsylvania County.
Clement spoke at a previous supervisors meeting about seeing firsthand acres of solar panels, utility towers, and the solar projects in Pittsylvania County.
“I am very glad citizens are speaking out publicly concerning this topic and I am also very glad the county is providing public hearings, meetings, and notices to all concerning this topic,” she said.
In light of recent events, Clement said the county is considering doing away with the current ordinance. However, she highly discouraged that.
“Patrick County’s ordinance is quite restrictive against solar facilities and serves as a deterrent to these companies whose only motive is money, not green energy. I urge you to keep the current ordinance in place but review it from the perspective of these companies and their motive to see if further revisions are needed to the ordinance to protect the county,” she said.
Clement said trying to figure out who really owns the companies is confusing, especially when many of the LLCs are owned by other corporations.
“I also encourage you to review the ordinance, application process, and documentation itself and consider requiring any LLC applicant to disclose their true business type of organization and ownership, company contracts, years in business, lists of projects completed and under construction, and contract lists of other localities as reference checks on why they really are and the quality of work they could perform and even require audited financial statements or similar financial documents be submitted,” she said.
Clement also suggested the county should review the ordinance for any third-party consultants or contractors needed and ensure the third parties are selected by the county but paid for by the solar company.
She suggested the board and community visit www.citizensforresonsible solar.org for more information about solar companies.
*Heard from Jamie Clark, of the Peters Creek District, about an alleged solar panel farm on South Mayo Drive.
Clark said reports in some print media state the former county administrator signed off on a request to have a solar farm installed on South Mayo Drive in Stuart on Oct. 22, 2021, without being reviewed by the county’s building inspector or Planning Commission.
“Now, my neighbors and I are being forced to have another unwanted development in our neighborhood. Several years ago, a local junkyard moved into our community, and we had no recourse to keep a commercial business out of our residential community,” he said.
Clark said this is not the only proposed solar farm in the works for the county.
“In the recent days, I’ve learned about two other solar farms that are in the works, and both of these locations are less than five miles from the proposed South Mayo Drive site,” he said.
He noted the county currently has a cell tower ordinance that regulates the distance between cell towers, so the county isn’t cluttered with towers and blinking lights. He wants any future ordinance involving solar farms to include this language.
Clark said the county does not have a zoning ordinance.
*Heard from Jane Fulk, a member of the Planning Commission and of the Dan River District, about the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
As the county does not include zoning, Fulk said the county’s comprehensive plan needs to have in it about renewable energy.
Fulk requested all correspondence regarding solar or renewable energy be forwarded to Larry Crowley, chairman of the Planning Commission.
“We have a great deal of correspondence that we never got. We didn’t know anything about it. In fact, I got some more today,” she said.
Fulk said she doesn’t’ know who’s in charge of getting it and knows the board doesn’t get it, “but some way, it goes through the administration process and whoever gets it, I would like for you all to make sure they send it to the chairman of the Planning Commission so we can be up to date and not go in cold,” she said.
*Approved the meeting minutes.
*Approved the bills, claims, and appropriations.
*Heard an update from Patrick County Chamber of Commerce Director Rebecca Adcock.
*Heard an update from Tourism Coordinator James Houchins.
*Appointed Barbara Jo Newton to the Public Service Authority (PSA).
*Heard supervisors’ reports.
*Heard an update on DMV hours. Assistant County Administrator Donna Shough said the DMV Select is currently training two new employees. The DMV will be closed March 14, and March 20-24 for training.
“There may be additional closure hours in March and April for inventory and further training. So, we’re asking for patience and understanding while the DMV Select is in this transition period,” she said.
*Approved Shough as the third check signature for payroll and vendor checks until a county administrator is named.
*Approved Emergency Management Service (EMS) equipment recommendations through the FY23 capital equipment fund.
*Scheduled a public hearing for April 17 to discuss a school bus video surveillance ordinance.
*Adopted a resolution of a Governing Body for a Jail Vehicle grant. Shough said the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office is eligible for a 75 percent grant up to $50,000 to purchase two-three vehicles.
*Introduced Travis Murphy as the new Recreation Director. He started the position Monday, March 20.
